What exactly does "time" mean?

[pfapfap]

As was stated, it's a quick way for a player to say, "yes, I know the action is on me, I'm thinking for a second, please bear with me," without distracting the player or being unnecessarily verbose. The dealer repeats it as an acknowledgment to the player that it was heard, and to let the rest of the table know that action is paused and they shouldn't all start to act out of turn.

Keeping a low stakes game running smoothly can sometimes be like herding a bunch of 4-year-olds while chasing after housecats. Since nobody is sure who hears what, if you're taking time to make your decision, please say "time"... especially if you find the dealer is constantly staring at you or reminding you that it's your action, or if people are frequently skipping your action. And ESPECIALLY if you're wearing sunglasses and are prone to use those subtle balla hand-gestures.

[Gonso]

It's also to prevent problems when people start acting after you by accident

[I.Rowboat]

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It's also to prevent problems when people start acting after you by accident

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This is precisely the reason why people say "time." AFAIK, it goes back to the original Gardena card rooms, and is insurance against people angleshooting you by mucking their hands out of turn before you have a chance to act, and thus killing your action. Many of the games used to be player-dealt (!), and with no professional center dealer to keep things in line and a bunch of rough characters, all sorts of things are possible.

[ZPinhead]

I have also hear (and have used) 'Time' as a 'Time out' indication when I believe action should stopped for some reason. An example is where I am ponder my hand (in a limit game) for a few seconds and players after me continue to act (fold). Also if I see some kind of action that I don't beleive is right and I think that everyone should stop for a second (especially with a weak dealer) to figure out what is going on.

Calling a clock on someone (over glorified with TV tournament poker) would involve terms like 'can I get a clock on him?' and should never be used in a live game situation (IMHO)

[Rick Nebiolo]

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[ QUOTE ]
It's also to prevent problems when people start acting after you by accident

[/ QUOTE ]

This is precisely the reason why people say "time." AFAIK, it goes back to the original Gardena card rooms, and is insurance against people angleshooting you by mucking their hands out of turn before you have a chance to act, and thus killing your action. Many of the games used to be player-dealt (!), and with no professional center dealer to keep things in line and a bunch of rough characters, all sorts of things are possible.

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In Gardena the little old lady poker players would even shout "time" when reaching into their handbags to pay a cashier at the grocery store.

~ Rick

[bav]

Oddly enough we had a conversation about this topic at a table a couple weeks ago. A couple dealers and dual-rates playing at the table said "players who call 'time' have technically just asked for a clock on themselves--it doesn't mean what they think it means."

[goofyballer]

[ QUOTE ]
Oddly enough we had a conversation about this topic at a table a couple weeks ago. A couple dealers and dual-rates playing at the table said "players who call 'time' have technically just asked for a clock on themselves--it doesn't mean what they think it means."

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Yeah, that's kinda why I started this thread - I was curious if ppl were inadvertently calling a clock on themselves in the process but at least at the rooms I've played I've never seen a clock get invoked or anything.

[AngusThermopyle]

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A couple dealers and dual-rates playing at the table said "players who call 'time' have technically just asked for a clock on themselves--it doesn't mean what they think it means."

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Dealers and dual-rates often don't know what they are talking about.

How did they say you were supposed to state that you are still thinking and have not checked, in order to preserve your right to act on your hand?